Wednesday, September 30, 2015

More progress on my army standard bearer. I've finished his skin and most of his armor, except the guard on his right arm. He is coming along nicely. I'm still wondering what I will be painting on the banner and whether or not I'll paint the same thing on both sides. I know I will be painting chaos runes on it though.

I love the old 80s citadel troll models. I've wanted to own one, preferably several, for a long time. Well I finally got an old troll, FTT9 / C31 Giant Half-Troll Champion. I got him from my friend down the street, but he didn't have the axe or shield so I decided to make him a standard bearer with a sword. I wasn't really sure where he could fit into my warband/army since I couldn't really find any rules to use for the model, other than a standard troll which can't wear armor. So I decided to use him as my army standard bearer. In a game I will use him as a chaos champion of Nurgle who has the crossbreed (troll) chaos attribute. I'm still mulling over what skin color he will have, but right now I am leaning toward a turquoise with purplish highlights. I started painting him last night and already made a mistake. I decided that his armor would be a silver color rather than bronze, but as I started to paint his armor I forgot and started painting it bronze. Now I have to go back and fix it, though it shouldn't be a problem. For some reason it seems no one is interested in painting or collecting this model. I can only guess it is probably because there weren't really rules for him so the sculpt was never a big hit. I will post his banner once I have done more with it.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

The heat and humidity of the jungle around him caused beads of sweat to break out all over Mortimer's body. He could feel it leaving hot streaks as it travel down his back. The clothes beneath his armor were soaked as he pushed his way through the leaves and vines. He could imagine his skin raw and red from the chafing of the coarse cloth. There was a foulness in the air and the faint aroma of decay, but the baron had gotten used to the smell of dead bodies long ago and he paid it little heed. His goal was to find his way out of the dense jungle. The ground had become more of a marsh than hard earth and each step had become more difficult. He had, at first, tried to find Olaf and the others, but they had been separated and now they no longer returned his calls. He would look for them after he had found his way to an area of open ground and got his bearings. Weak daylight filtered through the canopy above, transforming the light into yellow green hues that made his skin look jaundiced. Strange biting insects flew through the air and he was glad that only the skin of his face was exposed. His armor had begun to rust in several places after months of wear with no maintenance. He had first abandoned the helm that would not accommodate his horns, but kept the chain mail coif. The dirt and grime of continually sleeping in the forest had accumulated quickly and the armor had lost its shine after only a few days. Mortimer didn't care about the condition of his armor as long as it held fast. He praised Nurgle for providing it in the first place. Though now that he was moving through muddy ground it had become more of a hindrance, but Mortimer was not so short sighted that he would abandon it.

Mortimer started at the sound of a crow calling overhead. He hadn't noticed until then that the only sound he had heard for quite a while was the buzzing of the insects swarming around him. Through a rare break in the canopy he saw flashes of a crow flying overhead in the yellow haze of the sky. He could hear it through the trees drifting off the direction he was headed. Further in the distance he could hear the cawing of more crows. The ground under his feet had gradually been getting wetter and now the stagnant water had reached his ankles. He had tried to find dryer ground but anything less than turning back led to deeper water. He decided if it got to his shins he would have to turn back and find another way. The trees were beginning to thin and hanging moss replaced the thick vines. Occasionally collapsed trees revealed more of the featureless yellow haze of the fog shrouded sky. The underbrush had cleared to reveal the thin layer of marsh water that had replaced the wet earth of the jungle floor. Though the forest was still thick many of the trees looked dead and rotted and many of them were twisted into strange and vaguely disturbing shapes. The ground he walked on began to look more and more like a path as the woods to his left and right looked less like a forest and more like a swamp. There were breaks in the tree line that revealed deep patches of swamp with yet more trees beyond. There was still no signs of life besides the insects and the sound of crows. There was no wind. None of the trees around him swayed yet occasionally he could hear the creaking of branches. There was little point in calling out to his companions since they would have no way of crossing the waterways that separated them even if they could hear him.

Mortimer pushed through a thick tangle of brambles and brush that blocked the path he had been following. The thorns cut into his face as he pushed passed them, but the pain barely registered. He felt that his destination was near, though he hadn't realized he had a destination. The vista that met him as he pushed through the last of the bushes brought him to his knees. Stretched before him, to the horizon, was a foul bog and in the farthest distance was a being of vast and ultimate corruption. The massive blob was the embodiment of filth and putrescence. A foul wind blew into Mortimer's face and the noxiousness of the vile odors it contained force the bile to erupt from his mouth onto the marshy ground. After a moment of emptying the contents of his stomach upon the ground he regained his composure and marveled at the scene before him. Wiping the filth from his chin with the back of his hand he stood and began to walk towards the distant figure. His god was not alone in the swamp. Even with the vast distance Mortimer could see that the figure was surrounded for miles by disgusting rotted creatures in the forms of men. Some of them wore rusted and filth encrusted armor and some were naked, green and rotting. The number of forms and mutations was vast and beyond counting. As he walked along the path toward the towering form of putrescence he noticed that not far from him was a blackened and dead tree filled with cawing crows and he realized that this was what had lead him to the putrid swamp.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Along the Olaf I also painted a chaos familiar, but because I have no sorcerer I am debating whether or not to use him as a champion of Khorne with chaos armor and the Shrink attribute. According to Shrink's description it doesn't affect the height very much, but that doesn't really make sense to me since it shrinks him to a 1/4 of his original size. So for fun I am thinking about using him for that. If I do I will use him to lead the Khorne allies of my Nurgle army.

Finished my corrupted Bretonnian. You can read more about Olaf Corpsekisser in the Chronicles of the Baron of Crows. He will be the leader my Nurgle chaos warriors unit, or he may be its champion. I enjoyed painting his armor. Metallics and free hand painting are my two favorite aspects of painting miniatures. I've always enjoyed the corrupting aspect of chaos in the Old World and I enjoy converting Empire and Bretonnian models into the service of chaos. At some point I might do some converted Imperial Dwarf models for Khorne allies. I've got this great visual of the normally regal looking dwarf models drenched in gore with grisly trophies around them. But that will have to be more long term since I don't have any. I've always loved the Marauder Dwarf models so that will eventually be my target.

Saturday, September 26, 2015

So, I just recently did a trade with my friend who lives down the street from me so I have a few new miniatures, mainly chaos familiars, including two Bretonnians. I decided to do a slight conversion on one to make a chaos warrior. Here he is with colors blocked in and a few highlights on his armor. Next I'll be doing some oil washes and more highlights.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Olaf had lost his dagger and now fought with his sword in a two handed grip. With his opponent wounded Olaf pressed his advantage by battering him with powerful swings that shook the knight with each impact. Blood was now flowing freely from the wound in the knights side and his face had grown pale from the loss. Olaf aimed his attack for the knight's left side and as the knight tried to block the feint Olaf spun and put all his might into a downward slash at the knight's right leg. It was a move that would have been easy for the knight to block, but blood loss had taken its toll and he was not fast enough. Olaf's rusted sword slashed down through the knight's leg, parting armor, flesh and bone. The knight screamed as blood pumped from the wound, but was quickly silenced by Olaf's next blow.

Mortimer and Johan heard the knight's screams cut short and knew the battle had turned irreversibly in their favor. One of the knight's they were fighting realized this as well and, determined to sell his life for his opponent's, lunged at Mortimer with a killing blow. He was so quick that Mortimer had no time to raise his sword in defense. Time slowed for Mortimer as he saw his death come for him. The blow never landed. As the knight lunged twisted roots lurched from the ground, entangling his feet, pulling him from the air and crashing him into the ground in front of Mortimer. Before he had a chance to recover the Baron plunged his sword through the knight's back, pining him to the ground like an insect as. Felix would be well rewarded for his timely intervention, Mortimer promised himself.

After Johan and Olaf finished the last knight the Baron and his men quickly gathered the knights' weapons and armor and bundled them on the horses before leading them into the darkness far from the fire's deadly light. Soon the bodies would be food for the creatures of the forest, including those of Mortimer's men who had fallen to the knights. Nurgle didn't care whose corpses rotted in his name.

Deep in the woods Mortimer and his men buckled on their new armor and sheathed their new swords. They had new mounts and though they were fewer in numbers they were stronger with their new plunder. It was clear to see that Nurgle favored them and their might would only grow.

I'm painting up some plaguebearers for my warband/army just in case I roll them as rewards for my champion or on the Creatures of Chaos chart. Introducing Plaguescum the Plaguebearer. I'm still working on his skin and I haven't started on his base yet. Very much still a work in progress. I've always thought his face looks like an orc's. I decided to paint it with a bit of pink to help it stand out.

Since my chaos warriors unit is temporarily on hold I've been working on a unit of Nurglings. Nurgle is the only chaos army that can include daemons without having to summon them. Nurglings are one of my favorite daemon units because of their cute, mischievous nature. I have to transfer the Nurglings I have from round bases to square, since they were originally used in my 40k army. I originally bought them from a roommate, who had attached them to round resin bases. They are more solidly attached to their bases than any miniature I've ever seen so I'm having to cut the bases apart.

Luckily some of the Nurglings I have I bought myself in the 90s so those I've managed to rebase easily since they were just on a normal plastic round base. I've started by painting those up first.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Night had descended in the Forest of Shadows. Even in the brightest part of the day the forest floor lay in a deep darkness, but at night not even the trunks of trees could be seen. All lights in the Forest of Shadows heralded death. Witchlights lead to a cold death beneath the earth and campfires lead to a brutal and bloody death by the hands of brigands or beastmen. For the weak to bring light into the forest it brought their own death with it. Mortimer was powerful in the world of men because of his wealth and connections, but he no longer lived in the world of men. However among the six followers who had survived with him there were several fighters. They had been lucky to not lose anyone when they had managed to overtake the small group of drunken beastmen, but that luck would not keep them alive. One of his followers, Felix Zouche, was not a warrior, but he had powers of his own and though minor in the face of the great magic of chaos they were enough that he would be burned by the witch hunters for possessing them. Felix had granted the seven of them witch sight that allowed them to see even in the night of the Forest of Shadows. The ritual had taken most of the day and all of the hearts of the beastmen they had slain.

The knights' fire barely kept the darkness of the forest at bay. There was little wind blowing through the clearing yet the shadows created by the fire seemed to move and shift constantly. There were five knights sleeping on mats around the fire. Their armor and weapons lay in easy reach of their sleeping forms and their horses were tied up at the terminus of the fire's light where the shadows of the forest began to encroach. A sixth knight keeping watch. His armored form was tense and alert with his head bare to allow for a greater view of the menacing shadows. Mortimer could see that there was more caution than fear in the knight's eyes as they moved over the perimeter of the camp. It was only a matter of time before others would be attracted to the light of the fire and this deadly prize might be stolen from his rightful hands. Mortimer decided that the opportunity was too good to pass up or to let anyone take from him. The knights' armor and superior weapons would go a long way towards increasing his power, not to mention the horses. He and Johan made their way back to the others waiting in the darkness of the forest.

"...and Myles you will take the horses," Mortimer finished. He had little trouble explaining the plan he had devised on his way from the knights' camp for it was simple enough for even Myles, his somewhat simple cousin, to understand. The others had been eager to get their hands on the weapons and armor that the knights had brought into their forest. They were also eager to spill the blood of others in the name of their diseased lord Nurgle. The weapons they had gathered from the beastmen were rusted with little edge left and of little use after a few battles. But they would be enough for sleeping knights wearing no armor. The knight on watch was another matter however and it was decided that Olaf would deal with him. Olaf had once been a Ravens Knight until his particular indiscretions with the dead were discovered. He fled the Order and was welcomed into the Cavendish household as the Baron's bodyguard. He was a powerful addition to the Cavendish household and easily the strongest fighter among them.

The seven men quietly made their way through the woods toward the camp, taking every precaution to make no sound as they moved. Each man took his position around the campsite, pairing himself with a sleeping knight. Olaf matched the knight on guard. His attack would signal the others. Olaf sprang from a crouch behind the watchful knight a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. The knight sensed the attack as it was sprung, but not in time to avoid injury. As the knight dodged left, away from Olaf's sword swing, Olaf pierced his side with his dagger. The knight's cry of pain turned to a cry of warning for the sleeping knights. As Olaf leapt at the guard the others had charged their targets. At the knight's cry two of the "sleeping" knights sprang from the mats, swords in hand. They had been cautious in the Forest of Shadows and expected ambush. Three guards were far better than one. Two of the remaining knights died to the daggers of Myles and Johan. The third managed to get to his sword before Mortimer plunged his own sword through the knight's neck. Mortimer left his sword in the knight's neck and grabbed the knight's from the ground where his spasming hands had dropped it.

Two of Mortimer's men were killed by the knights who had feigned sleep. Mortimer and Johan, who had picked up a dead knight's sword, moved towards the onrushing knights as Myles fled toward the horses. Knowing they were outnumbered the knights attempted to reach their companion, but Mortimer and Johan kept them divided. Neither Mortimer nor Johan were as trained a fighter as the knights and they were being driven back by the fierceness of their attackers. Behind them they could hear Olaf struggling with the wounded knight.

Well, here is the final chaos warrior. I'm now out of chaos warriors to paint. Now I'll have to work on getting more, since I need at least 7. I may end up adding the splatter effect I did on the shield to all the warriors' armor. I haven't decided yet. I really like how the shield on this one turned out. I used crackle glaze between paint layers, then added the splatter last.

So, I'm working on my last chaos warrior for a while. I am almost done with him. I just need to paint his horns, the tips of his feet and finish his shield. I'm doing a special technique on his shield and I hope it turns out well.

In the northwest of the province of Ostland, deep in the Forest of Shadows lies the burnt and crumbling remains of a manor house surrounded by a noisome bog. The destruction of the manor is the beginning of a tale of the fall of the last member of a doomed line of decadent nobles, Baron Mortimer Cavendish, the Bogfiend and the Baron of Crows.

Mortimer Cavendish was a baron in the northern province of Ostland. He was born to a wealthy political family that had developed sever, hereditary disfigurements over generations of intermarriage. His own mutation was a pair of goat horns sprouting from his head. Because of this he was never seen in public and those times when he was forced to travel he did so in an enclosed carriage and always spoke through an intermediary. The Cavendish family had long ago begun to worship chaos in various forms and Mortimer Cavendish was no different. Because of his numerous illnesses he became a dedicated worshiper of Nurgle. To show his dedication to Nurgle the baron and his followers poisoned the wells of seven towns in Ostland, spreading a different plague in each town. For this Nurgle eased the pain of his many diseases and marked him as his own.

The Cavendish Estate began to gain a sinister reputation in the surrounding villages, as far as the border of Nordland on the northwestern edge of the Forest of Shadows. Baron Cavendish began to be known as the Bogfiend, as his manor was surrounded by an impenetrable bog. The only access to the mansion was a single seldom used road in ill repair. As he became more bold in his worship of Nurgle his servants began to flee the manor in fear of their lives. Eventually the Order of the Silver Hammer discovered the baron's secret worship and sent witch hunters to arrest him for his crimes. In the ensuing battle the manor burned to the ground and most of the remaining servants were captured or killed. The baron managed to flee with several devoted followers into the bog that surrounded his estate.

Mortimer and his followers encountered a group of beastmen raiders a few days after their flight into the Forest of Shadows, beyond the bogs. Being outnumbered and low on weapons the Baron chose to follow the beastmen and wait until night, when they were so drunk they could hardly stand. He and his men crept down into the camp and slit the throats of those who had passed out and then quickly slew those who could barely hold their weapons. After the slaughter he and his men gathered the weapons and equipment they would need to survive. With profane rituals they gave thanks to Nurgle for leading them to the bounty the halfmen had provided for them.

Friday, September 18, 2015

Well, the initial painting on the banner is done. Now I need to go back and dirty it up. I have to say I am proud of how it turned out. I think this is the easiest banner I've painted. I don't know what got into me.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Now that I have finished the leader of the unit I'm moving on to the banner bearer. I've started by airbrushing the basecoat as well as doing some shading on the banner. Next I'll use oil washes to add further shadows to the armor and banner as well as adding some filth to the banner.

I've finished my first oldhammer chaos warrior for my Nurgle warband. After messing around with the lighting I final managed to get a decent picture of him, although I'm still trying to figure out how the professionals' photographs come out so amazing. I was originally going to go for a realistic look with this mini, but I just couldn't help using an "oldhammer" paint scheme. So, it turned out to be a "realistic" oldhammer look.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

So, I've been really enjoying looking at pictures of miniatures from the 80's and early 90's lately. I've recently found a great forum (http://forum.oldhammer.org.uk/index.php) that has everything I've been looking for in a miniature community. At my own game store there are very few players that enjoy or remember Warhammer in the 80's and 90's, especially the miniatures, so its nice to find that I'm not the only one that misses the days of 3rd edition Warhammer. In the spirit of this new found community I've decided to create a Nurgle warband using the Fantasy chaos line from the 80's and early 90's.

Since I am very poor right now, having lost my job, I have searched my mini collection for some of my older miniatures. I've lucked out and found a few chaos warriors to paint. I'll be starting with a mini that I converted and painted in the early 10's.

Originally I converted him by cutting off his mace and replacing it with a sword blade from Archaon the Everchosen, as well as giving him Archaon's shield. I have now replaced the blade and shield with new ones more in keeping with the appearance of the model.

I've decided not to strip him before priming him since the paints I used were thin enough to not clog any details. I'll be using an airbrush to prime him and I'll paint him primarily using oil washes.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

So, I discovered from looking at image online that this model's stomach is supposed to be covered in his robes so I had to repaint it. I also started on the fire and worked on the metals and the base. Next I'll be finishing the fire and working on the staff and that should be all.